Tidbites | Keep it bottled up

Coloradans can be very territorial about their beer. But one of Colorado’s favorite sons, Oskar Blues, has found a collaborator outside our borders to co-produce a beer in a re-sealable pint bottle.

Oskar Blues and Indiana brewery, Sun King, have “traveled between locations for months,” a press release says, to co-create Chaka, a Belgian-style ale. The collaboration is the result of a friendship between Oskar Blues head brewer Dave Chichura and the two founders of Sun King.

The beer, an 8 percent ABV ale, is made with ingredients from Indiana and Colorado and is being brewed in both locations.

Oskar Blues has long been recognized as a pioneer in canned beer, canning the first craft beer in 2002 when it put Dale’s Pale Ale in aluminum. Chaka is the first craft beer to be contained in Ball Corporation’s “Alumi-Tek” resealable pint bottles, currently used by Coors and Miller for their beers.

The collaboration will be released May 3 at the Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego, then sold starting the following week at Oskar Blues Tasty Weasel Tap Room in Longmont.

ROLLING WITH THE BRUNCHES

Longmont wine bar Your Place or Vine, which sits near the incredible intersection of Neon Forest Circle and Ionosphere Street, is launching a new Sunday brunch menu on May 6.

The 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. offering will include weekly specials in addition to the restaurant’s regular menu and a make-your-own Bloody Mary bar.

FACIAL HAIR FOR A CAUSE

As the viral Five Second Films clip “Don’t Thinko de Mayo” bluntly points out, the holiday in the U.S. is often about having a few drinks. But if you want to do a little more — like raising money and awareness for charity — the Boulder County AIDS Project is hosting a Margaritas in Mustaches event to raise money for HIV care.

Margaritas in Mustaches — an event where a $10 donation to BCAP gets you a marg, a mustache (presumably not a real one) and a chance to win a bottle of Leyenda del Milagro tequila — will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. May 5 at The Bitter Bar. The event is the launch of BCAP’s connectBCAP group, a “new young professionals group” intended to raise money for the charity.

HOW TO GET FRESH

Two Colorado companies are the latest on the roster of Louisville natural foods manufacturer Fresca Foods. Boulder Ice Cream and Denver granola company Love Grown Foods have signed on with Fresca, a press release says.

The manufacturer specializes in the production of natural and organic foods, the release says, working only with natural food brands and using only wind power. Its newest clients also emphasize all-natural food. Love Grown, distributing at Whole Foods and other local stores, produces all-natural gluten free granola, while Boulder Ice Cream is organic and all-natural.

The move to Fresca represents a big expansion for each company.

They’re both growing from homemade or small-batch operations. Boulder Ice Cream currently makes batches “nine gallons at a time,” the press release says, at its location near 28th and Canyon. The two founders of Love Grown, meanwhile, make their granola in a Stapleton commercial kitchen by hand.